Thursday, September 22, 2016

Downtown LA's Placement of Bus Poles on 9th & Flower

Last week, TransportiCA was in Los Angeles to cover the American Public Transportation Association’s annual meeting and the L.A. Green Festival. While we were headed to our hotel via transit (LA Metro), we noticed this set of bus signs at the northwest corner of Flower and 9th Streets - the first picture below, left.

The photo on the left shows the current configuration – a total of five bus stop poles for the various agencies. While many providers service this location, we have to ask ourselves, why cannot all of the signs be placed on a single pole? In the middle photo, we see a more permanent utility pole. The permanency of the pole means it will not be relocated whimsically. How about combining the smaller poles, placing all of the signs on the utility pole? In doing so, you would also be providing more space for those mobility impaired riders, and centralizing the bus signs for a singular focus by riders.

The image at right is an example of such centralization. If there is such a legal prohibition on combining the signs into one, TransportiCA fully supports continued compliance. If not, can we go forward with centralization, and more space for the mobility-impaired?

As always, please share your thoughts with us at features[at]transportica.net.